Love Bites
by Jayden Winters
Summary: Nunquam lamiae morde me dice. Never say 'bite me' to a vampire. SasuNaru, KibaNaru IMPORTANT UPDATE. PLEASE SKIP TO AND READ AUTHOR'S NOTE ON LAST CHAPTER. DISCONTINUED/BEING REWRITTEN.
1. Missing

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Any character or event in this story resembling someone or something, dead or alive, real or fictional, is purely coincidental (other than the fact that, you know, these _are _Naruto characters…I mean other people outside of the realm of Naruto…well…you know what I mean).

**Warning: **My vampires do _**not **_sparkle. My werewolves do _**not **_look huge, hairy or grotesque in their human form. This story is rated for violence, gore, sexual themes and lemons in later chapters. Also, this is a yaoi, meaning boy-on-boy action. Don't like? Don't read.

**Jayden would like you to note…**that she just lost the game and thus, you did too. On another note, I decided that I couldn't continue on with the plot the way it was and have done some intense revising. Without further ado, **Love Bites **(V.3.0)!

-.X.-

**Missing**

-.X.-

Thunder rumbled overhead like a distant battering ram pounding on the gates of heaven. The sound of pounding rain echoed into the room through the single open window. Half a dozen richly clad men and women knelt in two rows before their Hokage.

Tsunade's harsh gaze washed over each and every Anbu. "Konoha has always been known for its diplomacy and cooperation with other villages. Its secrets and citizens have always been protected." Tsunade paused for a moment, allowing the elites kneeling before her to consider her statement. "It has been brought to my attention that there has been a breach in security. Onbe of your fellow Anbu, Sakura Haruno, has been kidnapped. Intel says that she is currently being held as a prisoner. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate the Village of Sound and rescue Haruno."

In a rehearsed fashion, the six members of the Anbu gracefully fell to both their knees and bowed to their commander. The Fifth Hokage smiled approvingly before barking, "Team Aburame, you will work alongside Team Nara and retrieve Sakura Haruno from the Village of Sound. Use whatever means necessary to bring her back alive."

The Anbu began to rise to their feet when Tsunade spoke harshly, "Inuzuka, you are being replaced with Lee for this mission."

"If I may have permission to speak freely, Hokage, why am I being replaced?"

"The full moon is approaching and we cannot risk a transformation in the Village of Sound. We will be discovered. You will be slaughtered and war will be declared. This is a delicate situation; we will avoid a war. More lives need not be thrown away."

-.X.-

The moon and stars illuminated the midnight blue sky. Luckily enough for the two teenage boys sitting on their tree branch, there were no clouds to blanket the shimmering orbs of light.

A small smile crossed the blonde's lips as a yellow-green ball of light landed on his best friend's nose. With a light burst of air from between the blonde's lips, the firefly removed itself from the raven's nose. Both Naruto and Sasuke watched as the glowing insect floated back to the quaint, muddy pond.

The small body of water positioned at the base of the tree teamed with life; cattails surrounded the pond and the lily pads were always in bloom. During the day, tadpoles swam to and fro and through the aquatic vegetation, small carp leapt into the air to catch unsuspecting insects. Dragonflies buzzed about, tending to whatever kind of business dragonflies needed to tend to.

Nightfall was Naruto's favorite time to go to the pond. Night was when it really came to life. Frogs sang in chorus, throats expanding and depressing. The white flowers atop the lily pads always let off an eerie iridescence Naruto, for some reason, had always adored. The shore surrounding the muddy pond was blanketed with tiny, yellow starflowers which would only bloom and glitter under the starlight. And the fireflies-they were gorgeous. The teeny glowing orbs floated aimlessly, hovering above the water's surface; they resembled wandering spirits, Naruto thought. But the best part about sitting at the pond at night was not the flowers nor frogs or even the way the starlight or moonlight would reflect off of the surface of the muddy water. No. The best part was that he would always find his best friend there, always sitting on their low branch, always watching the scenery. And it never got old.

Ever since he could remember, Naruto and Sasuke would meet up at their tree and talk about anything and everything after sparring together. That was, at least, until Sasuke's family was murdered by his older brother, Itachi. After seeing his entire family slaughtered, it was rare when Sasuke would meet up with Naruto after training. Nights when they would meet up were special and Naruto held them close to his heart. They didn't talk much anymore, if at all, on those nights. To both teenagers, silence was golden.

Tonight was very different from the rest, though. In all of Naruto's nineteen years, never had Sasuke worn a distressed look without uttering a single word. And whenever a firefly would approach Sasuke, he'd catch it and watch it crawl to the tip of his finger-he'd never allowed a firefly to land on him. Furthermore, Naruto's playful gesture had no effect on him.

The silence between the two was heavy, awkward even. And the way the Uchiha's jaw was tightened worried Naruto. In fact, Sasuke's whole body was stiff; this wouldn't help with the mission they were to embark on the next day.

In order to successfully take out the small group of kobolds terrorizing a local outpost, they would need everyone in their peak form; the team was only as strong as the weakest member. At best, even if Sakura could manage to put aside his obvious stress, Naruto wasn't sure he could. Being in Sasuke's presence when he was like this would only create discomfort which, needless to say, was terrible for teamwork.

Suddenly, Sasuke turned to face Naruto and drew in a deep breath. He clenched his fists and slowly exhaled. "Hey Idiot," he quietly began, "Can you take a look at something for me?"

Dumbfounded, Naruto blinked and nodded. He wasn't caught off guard by being called an idiot; coming from Sasuke, it was a term of endearment and, in return, Naruto would usually call him 'You' or 'Bastard', the terms completely interchangeable. The thing that really threw him for a loop was how soft and serious his voice was.

"You have to swear to me, Naruto, that you will say nothing to _anyone _in Konoha," he hissed, crease forming between his eyebrows.

"I swear," Naruto quietly promised, holding out his pinky finger.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the childish gesture before leaning forward. "Do you swear on your life…? I will not hesitate to kill you if I find out if you've told a soul, Uzumaki."

"Geez Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his hands up exasperatedly. "You don't have to threaten me with my life. I've never told anyone any of your secrets. I don't even keep a written record."

The Uchiha nodded and released another sigh. "I don't know how much longer I can stay in Konoha."

"You're not going after Itachi, are you…?"

Sasuke shook his head and crossed his arms. "No."

The blonde nodded, relief washing over his face. "Good because you know that Sakura and I will be there when you do-"

"Itachi is my responsibility alone. Never mind him right now," he snapped. "Just tell me if you see anything." He reached up and tugged the collar down on his blue shirt.

Naruto scanned his best friend's shoulder and frowned. "That's a curse mark." His gaze flickered upward to meet Sasuke's. "How long have you had it?"

Sasuke averted his stare to a dancing firefly, face expressionless. He pulled the collar back up and leaned back ever-so-slightly. He bit his lip and closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling.

Naruto paled. "Sasuke, how long have you had that mark?"

"None of your goddamned business, Idiot."

"Bite me!" Naruto snorted and leapt off the tree branch. He turned back to his friend and crossed his arms. "Seriously, Sasuke, you never let me in anymore. What's the deal?"

Exasperated, Sasuke followed Naruto to the ground and stepped very close to him. "None of your-"

"Yeah, yeah. 'None of your goddamned business, Idiot!'" Naruto deadpanned, his face mere inches away from Sasuke's. They were so close; he could feel his friend's breath and Naruto had to swallow a knot building in his throat.

"Whatever. I'm out of here, Idiot," Sasuke shot back and turned away from Naruto. He paused and shook his head. "You need to grow up, Naruto. You mean nothing to me. And you know that I don't have to explain myself to you."

-.X.-

"Tsunade?" Naruto questioned as he approached her desk. "Have you seen Sakura? She didn't report for our mission today; we couldn't leave." His blue eyes searched her golden ones for an answer; finding nothing, he crossed his arms and silently waited for an answer.

"I haven't seen her," she replied, a look of concern splashing across her face. "It's very unlike her to not show up for a mission."

"I know," Naruto responded, "Is she sick?"

"Perhaps. But since when has illness stopped Miss Haruno from work? It is quite unlike her I'll look into it," Tsunade said, a wrinkle forming between her brows.

"Thank you, Hokage," the teen uttered, taking a deep bow. If anything were to happen to Sakura, Naruto would never be able to forgive himself; she was like his sister and he cared for her very much. He turned to leave her office.

Shortly thereafter, he found himself walking down the cobbled road. Near the ramen hut, Naruto saw Kiba sitting on a bench; he looked very depressed. He sat down next to the teen wearing an ear-to-ear grin. "Hey Kiba. Why the long face? Oh wait! I forgot! You're such a dog!"

Kiba merely shook his head which caused a pique in Naruto's curiosity. "Where's Shino? Aren't you two normally together?"

Kiba released a heavy sigh and shook his head again.

"Did you two have a fight?"

"Do you have to butt into everyone's personal business?"

"I'm just trying to help, you know," Naruto retorted, folding his arms. "I mean, if you guys did get into a fight, you should probably make up. I've got a bad feeling about tonight."

Kiba frowned. "What do you mean?"

A dark expression fell over Naruto's face and he drew in a deep breath. "Sakura's missing."

-.X.-

**Review? I promise to reply. 3**


	2. Dead

**Jayden Winters would like you to note…**that you just lost the game, if you hadn't lost it in the last chapter and/or it has been fifteen or more minutes since you read the last chapter.

-.X.-

**Dead**

-.X.-

"Stupid Sasuke…always thinking he's better than everyone else…" Naruto grumbled to himself, clenching his hands into fists. He turned around toward the entrance of Konoha and, not taking the hour into consideration, screamed at the top of his lungs. The declaration was clear: Sasuke was at the bottom of his list of people he was happy with and thus, on his shit list. Why did Sasuke always have to be like that? Why did he always have to close himself up and look all…mopey? Didn't he realize that he hurt the people that cared for him most by doing stupid stuff like that?

It had been another night of a distant Sasuke. He had been more of a bastard than the night before. He refused to talk about Sakura's mysterious disappearance. He acted like he didn't care that their_ friend_, their _teammate_, had up and disappeared. He pretended like he didn't care that all evidence pointed to foul play. And this frustrated Naruto to no end.

And it was ridiculous, he thought. He _knew _that Sasuke cared for Sakura. Naruto knew how much the raven cared for the girl; he had taken a near-fatal injury for her just weeks ago. If that didn't prove that Sasuke cared for Sakura, he didn't know _what _did. He wished that Sasuke would show some sort of _concern-_some sort of emotion-_anything_. He was far too stoic for Naruto's taste.

Naruto wiped the small traces of liquid off of his face and continued down the cobblestone road to the building he called his home. He would get to Sasuke, he was sure of it. He'd make Sasuke open up to him somehow. After all, they shared a strong bond of friendship. They were still close…just in a different way. That's what he wanted to believe. He wanted to believe, more than anything, that Sasuke _did _care, that his words declaring his loathing for Naruto were simply out of anger that he didn't know how to direct in any other way.

He was in denial.

Naruto, age nineteen, aspired to be the next Hokage. For his entire life, he had always been teased, tormented, mocked. He was always the kid that nobody liked, the kid that never got picked, the outcast. Someday, the entire village would see that Naruto Uzumaki was going to be Hokage. And then…Sasuke would have to open up to him. At least, that's what the blonde kept telling himself. He had absolutely exhausted himself worrying about Sakura; he didn't need it from Sasuke too.

For the time being, he decided, he needed his strength and his mind-which meant he needed sleep. In a few hours, Naruto would be out with Kakashi and Sasuke searching for clues to Sakura's whereabouts; Tsunade had warned the three not to do anything drastic and that they were to stay in the village until then.

Naruto approached his front door and walked into his home, stripped off his jacket, headband and shoes and walked straight into his room. The time he'd spent with Sasuke had required more energy than he'd realized. Before flopping down onto his bed, Naruto slipped off his shirt and pants. The moment his body hit the bed, his eyes slammed shut.

"Good morning, Naruto."

Was he dreaming? Who was talking to him? It was late and he was the only one home. Besides, he was the only person that _lived _in his house. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up, looking around the black room. Nothing _seemed _out of the ordinary. Maybe he'd exhausted himself more than he'd originally thought…? He was definitely dreaming.

Shaking it off, he laid his head back onto his soft pillow, pulling his blanket up over his shoulders. He glanced through his window at the crescent moon and smiled. It was almost as if it were telling him that everything was going to be alright…that things were going to work out between he and Sasuke just fine and that Sakura was alright. With his newfound reassurance, Naruto closed his eyes once more, releasing his pent-up breath.

"Or would goodnight be a more fitting term…?"

The blonde's eyes snapped open as a single hand came from nowhere and clenched his neck. He couldn't breathe. It was crushing his airway.

Black eyes peered down into his blue ones. Or at least he thought they were black. He couldn't really focus. The more he struggled, the tighter the hand became. And whoever it was, well, he was quite strong. Much stronger than Naruto was, anyway; they were holding him down with a single hand.

He felt weight shift on top of him and the hand around his throat moved to his shoulder. Naruto immediately drew in a sharp breath and looked up into the black (or were they purple?) eyes. The soft moonlight pouring in through his window revealed who the intruder was. "Sa…Sasuke…?"

The raven sneered. "Any last words, Idiot?"

"Wha…?" Naruto was at a loss for words. What the hell was Sasuke doing in his room? Furthermore, when the fuck had he become so strong? And why was the moonlight illuminating him in such a way that his skin almost looked like it was glowing…? And why was his curse mark shimmering…purple?

"Is that all you can come up with? You really are an idiot. A worthless, fucking _loser_." That stated, Sasuke bared his fangs and sank them deep into Naruto's collar.

"St…Stop…Sa…suke…please…"

Uchiha's lips twisted upward in pleasure. He could feel himself stiffening. Both the whimpering and the cries of pain the blonde male released were pleasing to him. His fingers curled, spilling warm, metallic liquid onto Naruto's skin. With one hand, Sasuke reached down and untied his pants, freeing his throbbing erection. With a stroke of his nails, Naruto's boxers were ruined.

Naruto was far too weak to resist Sasuke. He felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness. His vision was blurring. He couldn't grip, could barely breathe. The blonde felt his boxers tearing. This wasn't Sasuke. This couldn't be his bastard friend; Sasuke wouldn't ever do something so horrible.

But the pain was too much-both the pain of knowing that it _was _Sasuke and the physical pain. And when he felt his rival's length being forced inside of him, when he felt the tissues tearing, he screamed Sasuke's name out.

Death was a hard thing to accept. However, with the tremendous amount of pain Naruto Uzumaki was experiencing, death sounded alright. He inwardly laughed. _So much for making it to the top-all the way to Hokage_. When had things gone so awry? _Ah well. Maybe in the next life, huh…?_

When the raven heard his name being called, he wasn't sure how to respond. He removed his fangs from Naruto's collar, snapping back into reality. Sasuke blinked, gazing down at the blood spilling from Naruto's neck. His face was drenched with salty tears, chest covered in crimson. And his heartbeat was fading. Fast.

Blue eyes parted just enough to see their murderer one last time. The blonde's lips twitched upward as he breathed, "Good…night…Bastard…"

Upon hearing this, Sasuke instinctively brought his wrist to his mouth and tore it open, flinching. He brought his bleeding appendage down to Naruto's lips. He had fallen unconscious. The raven listened for his heartbeat; it was faint. He forced open the blonde's jaw and allowed his own blood to trickle into the idiot's mouth. Only when he was fairly certain that Uzumaki had ingested enough of his diseased blood did he move his wrist away from the teen's mouth…And what the _fuck _had he just done? He didn't remember a goddamned thing.

Sasuke was very scared; his blackouts were becoming more and more frequent. And now he had hurt his best friend-his only friend, really. Sasuke bit his lip and glanced down, noticing the awkward position he had somehow put himself into.

Really. What the hell had he been thinking? Naruto was his _friend_. And Sasuke, no, he just wasn't really feeling like himself. He felt groggy and diminished of energy. The raven pulled himself out of the blonde and frowned. Why was he…?

Blue eyes, barely parted, peered up at a confused Sasuke. At first he, himself, was confused. Why was he still alive? Shrugging it off and realizing the situation he was in, his bottom lip began to quiver. Though his body was mostly numb, he could feel a burning pain tearing through his body at an enormously fast rate. And Kyuubi…Kyuubi seemed unsettled.

Naruto's body began to convulse. Immediately, the raven frowned and, terrified of what he had just done to his best friend…his only true friend in the entire world, he fled.

The blonde's body continued to tremble uncontrollably as the burning sensation turned to cold. He was in greater pain than he had ever known. He could feel his fingernails and toenails growing rapidly; it tore his skin and caused _more_ bleeding. Naruto's gums began to bleed out as his teeth extended. And his shoulder-it was blazing. He felt like his flesh was melting away from the bone. Crying out Sasuke's name once more, he collapsed and fell into a deep unconsciousness.

Sasuke Uchiha, as quickly as he had intended on taking Naruto's life, had saved it. But…he had stolen something precious to the blonde: his innocence. And for that, Sasuke was sure that he'd never be forgiven. Nor would he ever forgive himself.

Silently, Sasuke slipped into his own bedroom and crawled into bed. He wasn't sure of the outcome of his actions…And for all he knew, he had just created a monster.

-.X.-

**An Afterthought...**Want me to continue? Please review and say so!


	3. Monster

**Jayden Winters would like you to note…**that you just lost the game, if you hadn't lost it in the last chapter and/or it has been fifteen or more minutes since you read the last chapter.

-.X.-

**Monster**

-.X.-

Sasuke Uchiha had stolen Naruto's most precious thing. Sasuke Uchiha had tried to kill Naruto and couldn't bring himself to do it. And Sasuke Uchiha had turned Naruto into a monster. And Naruto was torn by it.

He looked at himself in the mirror, dried blood still crusted over his skin. His hair was matted to the side of his skull with blood. The blonde's whisker marks had grown wider; he brandished a curse mark in the same place as Sasuke's. However, it was different in that it was a small ring of six crescents with the kanji for flame in the middle. His fingernails and toenails were lengthy; he'd need to cut them. Naruto opened his mouth, baring his teeth. His canines were longer, much longer. Upon inspection further downward, he noted that the seal that made the ring around his naval was altered. The kanji was replaced with new symbols: a crescent, a star, a sun, a flame, a cloud and a wave.

Naruto ran his fingers over the area that had once been broken by fangs. It was smooth and he wasn't sure if it was Kyuubi's power that had healed it or if it were this new, mysterious one given to him by Sasuke.

Absolutely under no circumstances would he show his monstrous face in public. And how the _hell_ would he explain this to Tsunade? Kakashi? Jiraiya? He was in trouble. And Sasuke was dead meat. And, come to think of it, he wasn't sure why Kyuubi hadn't done any harm to the raven while he was under attack. He'd have to consult the fox about it later. But for now, he was hungry.

Starving, in fact.

His stomach was violently rumbling. Nonchalantly, he stretched out his arms and walked into his kitchen. He peered into his refrigerator; pushing his spoiled milk aside, he found what he was craving: a leftover bowl of ramen. After heating it up over his stove, he took out a pair of chopsticks from his drawer and grinned, beaming at the bowl. "Time to eat!" he exclaimed and downed the food.

As fate would have it, the ramen wound up on the floor a few minutes later, looking absolutely no different from chewed up ramen. Discontent, Naruto let out an aggravated growl.

Sasuke was definitely going to die.

-.X.-

The raven lay in bed the next morning, sulking about what he had done. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain this one away. He would be banished from Konoha, for sure. And Naruto…? If his body accepted the transformation, he'd be exiled as well. For now, they were both a threat to the tiny village. And it was entirely his fault.

But he couldn't figure out what had happened. Why had he gone after Naruto like he had? He couldn't think of a rational explanation and it was driving him insane. And then there were the blackouts; they were becoming more and more frequent. Why was he blacking out? Would Kakashi have an answer?

The Uchiha glanced out the window and sighed. How had Naruto taken the transformation? And if he survived, what changed? He was certain that Kyuubi wouldn't take too kindly to him the next time they crossed paths. Perhaps he should just disappear from Konoha altogether.

Grumbling to himself, he got up from his bed and walked into his bathroom to stare himself in the eye. He had cleaned himself up and destroyed any and all evidence of his bloodlust from the night before. Sasuke prayed to whatever gods there might be that he'd never lose control like that again.

Drawing in a deep breath, he made his way into the living room and found himself at his front door, hand on the knob. He had best well go and check up on Naruto; it was the least he could do…regardless of how idiotic the idea was. He was as good as dead the moment he walked in that door and he knew it.

Walking out through the entryway, he descended the stairs and made his way down the cobblestone road, toward Naruto's house.

-.X.-

The blonde sighed, gazing at himself in the mirror again. He didn't like how he looked. He wasn't _that _different. But he definitely wasn't the same Naruto. Sure, his face hadn't _really _changed, nor had his body. But his marks; they bothered him. He'd definitely have to talk to Jiraiya and Tsunade but could he really muster up the courage to do so? And would that negatively affect Sasuke? As angry as he was with the raven, he didn't want him to be exiled.

And _man _washe hungry. He couldn't keep down food, had fangs, had claws and had a strange new curse mark. What in the world had Sasuke done to him? Turned him into a vampire?

He froze. That _had _to be it. He was a vampire. Which meant he hated garlic, couldn't walk in the daylight hours and drank blood! Oh! And crosses hurt him…But! The only way he could die now was by getting a stake through the heart! And he could turn into a bat! Then again, he couldn't eat ramen anymore. And that, in and of itself, was enough to depress the hell out of him.

He heard a knock on the door and groaned; he could easily pretend he wasn't home. Besides it would look very, very bad having dried blood on his skin and fangs. Simply put, he would look like he had committed murder-especially since he had no scarring nor bruising.

"Hopefully whoever it is won't come in…" he mumbled to himself as he crawled into a cupboard and sat there, door cracked just enough so he could peer out into his kitchen. It seemed logical enough to him.

Naruto watched the door handle turn and he held his breath. He listened to the door swing open and heard footsteps coming toward him.

Surprised, said interloper pushed his hands out in front of him, blocking Naruto from pouncing on him. After the blonde was fully stopped, the raven wrapped his arms around his friend and released a sigh of relief. "I was worried, you know."

Frowning, Naruto pushed himself away from Sasuke and folded his arms, pouting. "You left me for dead, Sasuke."

"Listen Naruto, I'm sorry-"

"Sorry isn't going to cut it," he declared, clenching his fists and taking a step toward the intruder. "You left me for dead, Sasuke. You turned me into this-this-monster! Why the hell do you think you can just waltz into my house and say you're sorry?" There was a crescendo in Naruto's voice as he went on, "You're _sorry _that you nearly killed me, Sasuke? You're _sorry _that you _raped _me? You're _sorry _that you left me for _dead_? What the _hell _is your _problem_?"

"I don't know what came over me! I don't even remember what happened…" the raven contested, averting his gaze to the ground.

"I'm a freaking monster, Bastard. And it's _your_ fault. How the hell and I supposed to explain this to Tsunade? To Kakashi? To Jiraiya? To _Sakura _when we find her?" Tears were stinging Naruto's eyes; his eyebrows were knit together. His voice began to decrescendo rapidly, his shoulders shaking. "The hell is your problem, Bastard? The hell is your problem?"

"I…don't know…"

-.X.-

**Review…? I promise to reply… 3**


	4. Love

**Jayden Winters would like you to note…**that you just lost the game, if you hadn't lost it in the last chapter and/or it has been fifteen or more minutes since you read the last chapter.

-.X.-

**Love**

-.X.-

Naruto wrapped his arms around the man that had violated him the night before and clung to him. What the hell had Sasuke done to him? And why did he feel the need to be so close to the bastard? Was it because he had always had the overwhelming need to be comforted by him…? Or was it simply because Sasuke was in the same situation?

Salty tears cascaded down Naruto's warm cheeks. Sasuke gently set his hands on Naruto's bare back and pulled the blonde closer to his body. Becoming friends with the blue-eyed teen had been a mistake from the start. If he hadn't ever known Naruto…No. Then there would've been the chance he'd have been a random victim of his feeding. Sasuke couldn't dwell on the "What ifs" of life. He'd never allowed himself to do so beforehand…so why start now?

"Do I have to…kill people to eat…?" Naruto inquired. "I don't want to be a monster, Sasuke. I don't want to hurt people for my nourishment. I don't want to be like…you."

Unsure as to why his heart clenched at the blonde's words, Sasuke frowned. He didn't know how to reply to him. He didn't know how to comfort him. The truth of the matter was that he'd hoped that the loser was dead…but not because he hated him. Truth be told, he cared for Naruto very much. And that was the precise reason he'd hoped that the blue-eyed teen was deceased. Why should Naruto have to go through the pain of killing innocents to survive? Why did he have to go through the pain of the transformation?

Blue eyes blinked away tears. He took a step backward, line forming between his eyebrows. Clenching his fists, Naruto closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. The same cycle of thoughts ran through his head over and over again. What had he done to deserve Sasuke's wrath? Why did Sasuke _attack _him like he did? Why had Sasuke left him for _dead_? Weren't they supposed to be _friends_? And why the hell did he feel the need to be close to the bastard? Did Sasuke wish he was _dead_?

The flat of Naruto's fist came in full contact with Sasuke's jaw, knocking him backward. "I hate you, Sasuke! Get the hell out of my house!"

Sasuke stood there, prepared to take the beating he deserved. He wished he wouldn't have let Naruto live. The blonde wouldn't be suffering if it weren't for him and whatever had come over him.

Naruto threw another punch at Sasuke's face and stopped just before his fist came in contact with his nose. "Why the hell aren't you defending yourself? You really think I can beat the shit out of a defenseless asshole, You?"

Sasuke's head hung; his shoulders drooped. "I'm sorry, Idiot."

"You think that you can just be _sorry _for what you _did _to _me_? Do _you_? I _loved _you, you heartless bastard!" His hands flew up to cover his mouth but didn't quite reach their destination; the Uchiha carefully intercepted Naruto's wrists and pushed him against a wall.

"Don't ever say that, Naruto."

"I can say whatever I damned well please, Bastard! I loved you so much and I was willing to do anything for you. Until you violated me! Until you turned me into this…_monster_!"

"You're not a monster, Naruto! Yes, you have fangs and claws and yes you have curse marks but you are anything and everything _but _a monster and you just proved it by not beating the shit out of me! _I'm _the monster. I left you for dead. I hoped that your body wouldn't accept the transformation and that you'd _die_."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly before his gaze fell to the floor. "So is that how you really feel about me then, Sasuke? Do you hate me so much that you wish I was dead?"

"Yes. I hoped you were dead. I hate you, Naruto Uzumaki."

The blonde's head suddenly snapped up, blue eyes burning with rage. "After everything I've done for you, Sasuke, you hate me?" Naruto pulled his wrists free of Sasuke's grip, his strange, red chakra bursting from his body. "I've always been here for you, even when nobody else was." The blue-eyed teen grabbed and pulled down both of Sasuke's wrists, kneeing him in the stomach. "This is the thanks that I get, Sasuke…? For being the only person to truly care for you? For loving you when nobody else did?" He threw the raven down on the ground and pressed his foot to his chest. "You really _are _a monster. You disgust me." That said, Naruto kicked the Uchiha one last time and walked back to his room.

Sasuke laid there, feeling empty. And hurt. Most of all, he felt guilty. But that was how he was supposed to feel, right? He had taken the most precious thing away from Naruto against his will. And Naruto obviously believed that he had turned him a monster even though Sasuke wholeheartedly believed that Naruto was anything but. In fact, in the raven's opinion, Naruto's beauty had been magnified tenfold. Not that he thought Naruto was beautiful or anything.

Meanwhile, said blonde sat on his blood-stained bed, curled up in fetal position, thinking. Despite what he had said, he still cared very much for Sasuke. And this frustrated him to no end. He didn't want to care for the Bastard. He didn't want to hold his unnatural feelings he felt for Sasuke. He didn't want to be in love with the world's biggest jerk.

But the fact of the matter was that he did, and he was.

-.X.-

Shino's lifeless body laid splayed in the mud, insects crawling in and out of every orifice of his carcass. His porcelain mask had a large, diagonal crack spanning from the top to the bottom. Blood pooled under his lifeless body, staining the mud red. Sakura screamed out in agony; she had tried everything she could muster to bring life back into his body; she had overexerted her energy. Rock Lee watched her from a short distance through his mask, heart breaking for the scene that was unfolding before him. He watched as Ino, face covered with her porcelain mask, wrapped her arm around Sakura's shaking shoulders.

Sakura looked into Ino's mask, lip quivering. "It's my fault. Oh my gosh…Kiba." Her eyes flooded with tears, she buried her face into her hands and cried. Lee noticed just how shaken she was and frowned. He observed as Shikamaru walked to Shino's lifeless body and picked it up. He began walking in the direction of their village, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Ino helped an injured Sakura to her feet and allowed the pink-haired girl to use her for support. They needed to leave before enemy reinforcements were sent; five injured and exhausted Anbu plus a heavily injured Sakura would not bode well against an assault. Lee drew in a deep breath and ran in Sakura's direction. "Sakura?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up into his eyes through teary ones, "Yeah?"

"Do you…want me to carry you?" He flinched, expecting to be slapped or punched; he normally was when he asked her such questions.

Surprisingly enough, she stopped in her tracks and gave him a forlorn smile. "You know, Lee? I think that I'd like that very much."

Ino smiled behind her mask, thankful that some good came of this mission. She watched Sakura climb onto Lee's back before leaping up onto the nearest tree branch.

Tenten glanced at Sakura and Lee. "Don't take all day. We need to get back to Konoha." That said, she, too, leapt into the trees and began heading back toward their village.

"Thanks, Lee."

A small smile crossed Rock Lee's lips and he nodded. "No problem, Sakura." _I love you, after all…_

-.X.-

"Sasuke, you're still here…I can smell you," Naruto quietly stated as he walked back into his living room. He took a seat next to the sleeping form on the floor. Sasuke hadn't moved much from the spot where the blonde had left him.

Gently, Naruto touched Sasuke's shoulder and sighed. "Listen, Sasuke…I know you're asleep but I want you to know that I've done some thinking. And…I've come to some very important conclusions. I know it's getting late but I want you to know that, most importantly, I love you. And I always will…no matter what you do to me. You are my best friend; I wouldn't even chose the most beautiful woman in the world over you.

"Next…I want to forgive you. But…it's going to take some time. I love you…but you hurt me. A lot. And it might take me a long time to be able to trust you again. I know you say that you didn't remember doing anything…but I don't know if I can believe that. Truth is," Naruto fell back against the wall, "I don't know what to believe anymore. Do you even care about me? Sakura? We've been through so much together. We've forgiven you for all of your transgressions; the whole village has. Do you care about anyone here? Are you really that selfish?"

Sasuke felt his heart twist with pain as Naruto uttered each and every one of his words. Of course he cared about everyone. He just didn't know how to express his feelings. Yes, Sasuke was selfish. He was probably even _that _selfish. He couldn't help but to be that way. He had to survive. He had to carry on the Uchiha bloodline, even if it meant that he had to be selfish from time to time.

"And Sasuke…I'm sorry for the things that I said earlier. You're not a monster. I'm just…upset. I'm a little sad, mad and confused. I don't know what any of this means. I don't know what I am. I know that I can't keep food down. I know I have fangs and these nails. I know Kyuubi is quite displeased with you…but most important…I know that you don't really hate me. You always say stuff like that. But I know that you don't." Naruto chuckled to himself; he was about to contradict something he had said earlier. "I know you care. If you didn't, you wouldn't have come over this afternoon. You wouldn't have worried about me. You wouldn't have held me when I needed it. You wouldn't feel guilty. I know that you do. That's part of the reason you're still here. I know you better than anyone else, Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke bit his lip; he was having a hard time feigning sleep. Naruto didn't know how right he was…and this _scared _Sasuke. This meant that the blonde had managed to penetrate the wall he had put up to guard himself. Naruto was practically reading Sasuke's thoughts as if he were reading his actions.

"I'm worried about Sakura, Sasuke. She's like my sister. Do you worry about her at all? Has she crossed your mind since she disappeared?" A wry smile crossed the fox's lips. He pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his head on his knees. "The old me wouldn't have listened to orders, you know. I would've gone after her in a heartbeat. I've grown up a little bit. After Chouji was killed because of my stupidity…I don't know. I've lost a lot of my reckless streak. Have you noticed at all? Did you, for a second, wonder why I didn't go after her? Did you know that Chouji's death hurt me so much? To you he was probably just some fat loser…but to me he was more than that. He was a good friend of mine, you know?"

The Uchiha inwardly agreed with what Naruto was saying. He _had _matured. A lot. It was kind of a strange, almost oxymoronic, to think of Naruto as mature. Sasuke's lip curled upward when he recalled how Naruto had attempted to teach Sasuke his Sexy no Jutsu just a few years back; Sakura had gotten so angry with Naruto for being so immature. If she was alright, he was sure that she'd agree that Naruto had grown. So much so that, if he were to continue to grow at a speed even half of the rate he had for the last five years, he was certain that Naruto would become Hokage. He'd already surpassed Sasuke in so many different ways.

"This is stupid. You're asleep. It's like talking to a wall," Naruto grunted, stretching his legs out. "I love you, you stupid bastard."

_Me too, _Sasuke thought. _I love you too, Naruto. More than words can say._

Suddenly, a howl of pain erupted from outside. Naruto immediately jumped to his feet and pulled on his orange pant suit. In a matter of two minutes, the blonde was fully mobilized and ready to fight. He heard the sound again and as he stepped outside of his door, he realized that the village was not under attack; those were cries of-"Sakura?"

The pink haired girl walked up the stairs to Naruto's house, leaving Lee leaning against a tree just on the other side of the street. She wiped her eyes and threw herself into his arms. "I was so-" _hic _"-scared. And Shino. He's…"

"Shhh…It's okay," Naruto said quietly, running his fingers through her soft hair. "Tell me later, okay?"

"Will you just hold me, Naruto?" the girl softly cried, body convulsing in sync with her sobbing.

"Of course, sis," he quietly cooed. "I love you, Saku. I am so happy that you're safe."

-.X.-

**Review…? I promise to reply… 3**


	5. Angst

**Jayden Winters would like you to note…**that you just lost the game, if you hadn't lost it in the last chapter and/or it has been fifteen or more minutes since you read the last chapter.

-.X.-

**Angst**

-.X.-

"I-It's my f-fault," Sakura stammered, now sitting on the stairs outside of Naruto's house. She was leaning on Naruto's shoulder; the blonde noted Rock Lee leaning against a tree, waiting for Sakura. She looked up into Naruto's cerulean eyes and choked, "Shi-Shino t-took a fa-fatal blow for me! He j-jumped in front of me and s-saved my life. The chakra attack…it p-put him i-in cardiac ar-arrest. Lee k-killed th-the S-sound jo-jounin…but," _hic _"i-it was too l-late. Shi-Shino's h-heart was blown. And…his last word as it h-happened…'K-Kiba'. Oh _Naruto_! How am I supposed to tell him?"

"It sounds like he already knows. Don't worry about it, Saku…Just go report to Tsunade and get your butt home. You need sleep. And…take Lee with you. I don't want you alone."

Sakura nodded and quietly admitted, "I don't want to be…alone." She wiped her eyes and a soft smile crossed her lips. "Lee was there for me, you know. He carried me back. I mean, we weren't really all that far away-you see, the Sound jounin, they had to stop too often to get very far away. I didn't have the chance to fight back though…If I did then…" And she burst into tears again. Naruto wrapped his arm around the crying girl and kissed the top of her head. "Saku, go and be with Lee. He's waiting for you. He'll do a better job helping you feel better. He really loves you, you know."

She nodded and smiled through her tears, running her fingers along Naruto's thickened whisker marks. A frown quickly found its way onto her face and she shook her head. "What happened to you?"

"Don't worry about that right now, okay?" Naruto said, cupping his surrogate-sister's cheek. "All that matters is that you feel better. And Sakura…it's not your fault. Shino chose to protect you. He was a true Anbu; he put his mission before…"

"Kiba?"

Naruto nodded and stood up, extending a clawed hand to Sakura. She took it, making note of his strange features and smiled. "You look kind of cute, Naruto. Whatever happened to you…well…let's just say you don't look like you ran through the ugly forest and hit every tree anymore," she teased, wiping a tear off her cheek.

If she was feeling good enough to joke around like that, she was going to be alright. A huge wave of relief washed over him-until he heard another howl of anguish resounding through the evening air. He glanced back at his doorway and decided it best to leave Sasuke alone; Kiba was much more important right then.

-.X.-

"You were right…Naruto," Kiba quietly said as the blonde approached him and took a seat on the ground, next to him. "You were," his voice cracked, "absolutely right."

Naruto placed a hand on Kiba's back and, with his thumb, rubbed circles into his tight muscles. "Did you get a chance to make up?"

Inuzuka looked into Naruto's orbs and, judging by the look that he was given, the blonde knew the answer. He pulled the grieving teen into an embrace and rested his chin on Kiba's shoulder. "Kiba," Naruto began, "That was his last word. Your name. Sakura told me."

"If it weren't for her-" the brunette muttered bitterly, pushing himself away from the blonde.

"No. If it weren't for the fact that he were a true an Anbu, he'd still be alive. Blaming Sakura won't do a damned thing for you. It won't bring Shino back and it won't make you any friends," he retorted, a little more edge to his voice than he wanted. "Look at me, Kiba," Naruto said and placed a clawed hand on the teen's cheek, forcing him to look into his eyes. "Sorry. That came out kind of harsh. But…she's blaming herself for what happened to Shino. And…it's not her fault. He…jumped in front of her to save her life. He carried out his mission to the best of his ability."

"And…at any cost," Kiba quietly added, biting his lip. "That's what Hokage told us. At any cost we were to bring back Sakura. Alive." The brunette fumbled his friend's cracked, porcelain mask. Tears began to fall from Kiba's eyes again and Naruto sat there in silence. Seemed like the best thing for him to do; if he were to talk, he'd probably only upset his friend more. He didn't want to embrace Inuzuka; he didn't want to weird him out.

"Naruto?" the brunette asked, really looking at Naruto for the first time since their last chance meeting on the bench. "What happened to you?"

A wry smirk crossed his lips and he shook his head. "Sasuke happened to me."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. It's not important right now. What did they do with Shino's body?"

Kiba averted his gaze and ran his fingers over the smooth porcelain of the cracked mask. "His body didn't make it back; his insects devoured it. His bones…they're being prepared for cremation."

"I'm really sorry, Kiba," Naruto remarked sympathetically. "If there's anything I can do for you-anything at all, let me know, alright?"

"Thanks, Naruto. You're a good friend."

The blonde shook his head and grinned, "I try. But, um…Where are you staying tonight?"

"I was thinking about staying the night in Shino's place. You know? I mean, it'll smell like him. Make it easier to sleep."

"I suppose," Naruto agreed. "But you won't start to feel any better until you let him go."

"Mind if I stay with you tonight?"

-.X.-

Naruto and Kiba made their way in through the front door of Naruto's home. They walked straight back into the blonde's room where he proceeded to pull the bloodied sheets off of his bed. Kiba sat silently in the corner of the fox's room, staring off into space.

Upon walking up the stairs to his house, Naruto had noted that Sasuke's scent was virtually gone from the premises; he had left. This, naturally, made him wonder if Sasuke had _really _beenasleep through his little speech and if he was, why hadn't he said anything? He wasn't gone _that _long. Maybe an hour at most.

Either way, he had his broken-hearted friend to tend to. Kiba stared blankly ahead. He couldn't get Shino off of his mind, no matter how he tried. And the fact that he never got the chance to tell him that he was sorry...For that matter, if he didn't have the goddamned curse, he could've protected Shino. He could've been there. He could've been the one to take the fatal blow.

"Kiba?"

He looked up at the blue-eyed teen, tears still steadily streaming down his cheeks. He didn't have a voice. He couldn't even ask, 'What?'

Naruto understood and quietly said, "You can take the bed. I put clean sheets on it for you."

_You didn't have to do that,_ Kiba thought. He didn't have to give up his bed. It was obvious that the blonde had a rough night too. Something happened to his friend and he wasn't sure what the exact details were, but Sasuke was somehow involved.

Kiba shook his head and gestured that he was going to sleep on the floor. And, of course, Naruto wasn't going to have any of that. "You need rest, Kiba. The floor isn't very comfortable. Take the bed."

The brunette shook his head again. He couldn't move. His body was beyond exhausted and he hadn't been able to keep any food down. Life, as Kiba knew it, was completely and utterly over.

Naruto, deciding that Kiba wasn't going to listen to him, walked over to the huddled figure and picked him up. The brunette didn't protest. Didn't have the energy. Naruto laid him down on the bed and grabbed his blanket, pulling it up and over his shoulders.

The blonde lay down on the floor, covering himself with an old blanket. Smelled like Sasuke. A small smile crossed his lips and he closed his eyes.

"Hey," Kiba's voice cracked. "Naruto?"

"Hmmm?"

"Will...will you sleep with me tonight?"

Mindlessly, Naruto picked himself up off of the floor and crawled into bed with Kiba. He draped an arm around his friend and quietly breathed, "Sleep well, Ki..."

Naruto was out like a light.

Kiba laid there. He couldn't close his eyes. Every time he did, every single time he blinked, an image of Shino popped into his mind and he wanted to cry. He couldn't believe that he would never see his friend, his lover, again. And more than ever, he wished that he could go back in time and tell him that he was so sorry. Wanted to kiss him goodbye...pride...in...the...way...

Kiba's eyes drifted close and he curled up tighter next to Naruto who, in an unconscious state, mumbled something about ramen and how he was going to kill Sasuke.

-.X.-

**Review please…? I'll even reply… 3**


	6. Cursed

**Jayden Winters would like you to note…**that you just lost the game, if you hadn't lost it in the last chapter and/or it has been fifteen or more minutes since you read the last chapter.

-.X.-

**Cursed**

-.X.-

_A groan erupted from Naruto's throat as he felt the raven's erection brush against his own. The blonde's hands wandered down to Sasuke's blue pants and began tugging at them. He wanted them off._

_Taking the hint, Sasuke pulled Naruto's loose sweatpants off from his hips and rubbed his arousal against the younger teen. Naruto ran his fingernails down Sasuke's back and curled his fingers into a fist when he reached the small of the raven's back. "I want you, Sasuke."_

_The older teen nodded and spat on his fingers, sliding them up and into Naruto. He slowly spread his two fingers, preparing Naruto for entrance. Using his own saliva, he lubricated his penis and entered. The blonde's hips bucked upward and moans exploded from Naruto's throat. He breathed raggedly as he pulled himself up to kiss the raven. His kisses trailed from his Teme's lips, down his jaw line and finally to his neck. Under his lips, he could feel the blood coursing through his lover's body and, instinctually opened his mouth and bit down. He began suckling the warm, sweet blood from Sasuke's body and found that with every second he was latched on to his creator, the buildup of pressure in his groin area intensified tenfold. _

_When Naruto withdrew his fangs, he glanced down at his lover. And it wasn't Sasuke. Somehow, Sasuke had been replaced with Kiba and-_

Naruto shot straight up, body drenched in sweat. What was that all about?

He looked to his side only to find that his friend was missing. A sigh of relief escaped him and he looked out the window. The sun was beginning to come up and...

Where the hell was Kiba? Naruto looked around the room before a feeling of gloom set it. What if...? What if he...?

He shook his head clean of the thought as quickly as it had come to mind. What the hell was he thinking? Kiba probably needed to step outside or maybe had to use the bathroom...

The blonde crept out of his room and sniffed the air. There was no sign of Kiba's presence. Naruto walked into the kitchen and found a note.

Relief washed over Naruto as he read the note and discovered that the wolf had gone out for a walk to clear his head. He walked back into his bedroom and sat down on the bed. Something was bothering him. Why in the world had Sakura been kidnapped by the Sound?

Brows furrowed together, Naruto decided that he needed to consult Sakura about what was going on and why they would want her. He folded his arms and leaned backwards. More importantly, was her life in danger? Or did they want her alive?

-.X.-

Sakura answered the door and the first thing that Naruto observed was that she was extremely pale. She looked like she hadn't slept a wink; dark circles hung low under her red eyes. She had been crying all night.

"Good morning, Naruto," Sakura whispered. Shino was still weighing heavily on her mind. She looked like shit.

"Morning Sakura," he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"What are you doing here so early?"

"Coming by to see if you were okay," he answered honestly. "Want to grab some breakfast? We can talk, if you want."

She smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

The two walked in silence down the cobbled road toward a small restaurant. It was a comfortable silence-they had shared it a great many times. Naruto couldn't help but wonder why Sakura had been kidnapped and Sakura couldn't help but wonder why Naruto looked the way he did.

"How can I get you started today?" asked a middle-aged woman as Naruto and Sakura sat down in their normal spot.

"I'm alright," Naruto responded, remembering the ramen incident. He was so hungry...

"Orange Spice Tea," Sakura replied and shot Naruto a look of confusion.

"Be right back," the server said and retreated back toward the beverage station.

"Why didn't you order anything?" the pink haired girl questioned.

"I can't eat," he stated and Sakura's hands flew up to her mouth. "Whatever Sasuke did to me...I can't eat."

"What happened to you?"

The blonde bared his fangs and pointed at his shoulder. "I didn't come here to trouble you with my problems."

"Have you told Tsunade yet?"

Naruto sullenly shook his head. "I haven't really had the chance. And I can't hide this forever. There's no way that I'm going to be allowed to stay here in the village."

Sakura frowned. "Why?"

He chuckled and waved his hands in front of him. "Really, it's nothing to worry about right now. I'm worried about you!"

"What do you mean it's nothing to worry about?" she exclaimed, dark expression washing over her face. "You might be put into exile and you say that it's nothing to worry about? Naruto! What the hell is going on?"

The server quirked an eyebrow as she set down the tea. "Anything else for you?"

"Tamagoyaki please."

"Daikon radish on the side?"

"Yeah," Sakura replied and then turned her attention back to Naruto as soon as the server retreated to the back. "Really, Naruto, what's going on?"

He sighed and honestly answered, "I don't know. I'm guessing that Sasuke transferred a curse to me."

Sakura folded her hands around her warm teacup and leaned forward. "What kind of curse?"

"I'm not sure. Here's what I know: I can't digest food and throw it right back up. I have fangs. I have claws. I have a new curse mark and Kyuubi's mark changed. The smell of blood drives me mad and hearing beating hearts make me salivate. I'm not sure what's going on but I feel like the curse I have is almost vampiric in nature."

"But you can go out in the daylight?"

Naruto nodded. "Not sure why. Crosses and garlic do nothing either. This leads me to believe that I have a curse and am not actually a vampire. I don't know though. I haven't really had the chance to talk to that bastard about it-"

"That bastard? You mean Sasuke?"

Again, Naruto nodded. "Yeah."

"How did he transfer the curse to you?"

Naruto shifted uneasily in his chair. "He bit me. It was like he was possessed." She didn't need to know all of the gruesome details. "And then he made me drink his blood and the next thing I remember is being in a world of pain and everything burnt. Kyuubi is pissed about it."

"You think he was possessed?" she questioned. Sakura wanted to make sure that she got the details right.

"Yeah. He wasn't himself."

The pink-haired girl leaned backward in her chair and scratched her chin. "That's strange. Are you okay, Naru-chan?"

"Yeah I am. Thank you," he began, smiling. "Are you okay though?"

She merely shook her head. Tears formed in her eyes and she shook her head again. "I'm not. Shino...I feel so terrible."

"You have to be strong, Saku-chan. Shino wouldn't want to you to feel bad. He died with honor."

Sakura nodded and stared her teacup. "I know. But it's my fault!"

"It's not your fault, Sakura. He died in the line of duty."

"But you don't understand!" she exclaimed, crease forming in between her eyebrows. "He died because I was stupid and fell for an obvious trap."

"Everyone makes mistakes..." he quietly replied after a moment of thought.

"But not everyone makes mistakes so bad that their friends die."

Naruto folded his hands on the table and took in a deep breath. "What happened, anyway? Why are they after you?"

Sakura averted her gaze and bit her lower lip. She shifted in her chair and stayed silent for what felt like hours to Naruto. Finally, she looked him in the eye and replied, "You have to swear to keep this secret. If you tell a soul...I will never speak to you again Naruto Uzumaki."

The blonde nodded. "I promise."

"Good." It took another moment for her to gather strength before she quietly said, "Because...I was born with a gift," she locked gazes with her friend before continuing, "Once every hundred years, a human is born with the power to see things that others cannot. I can see ghosts and demons alike. I can communicate with them. And this is valuable because if you make good with one or two, you can ask them to do things for you...That and...Well..."

"Yeah?"

"Well..." She continued, tapping on her teacup. "Whoever marries me, his clan will become all-powerful. Because...not only can I see ghosts and demons...but I can control them."

Naruto thought about this for a moment before he scratched his eyebrow. "Can you control any demon?"

"Yes. But the more powerful the demon, the larger the sacrifice that has to be made for me to gain absolute power over him."

"And the Sound Hokage was going to force you to marry him?"

Sakura's cheeks turned three shades darker and she nodded. "Yeah. And I was tricked by his son who will be taking over shortly-he's rather handsome and his face is unknown to the general public. He had infiltrated Konoha and asked me on a date. And from there, I was kidnapped."

Naruto nodded. Girls were _so _stupid.

"The thing is..." Tears welled up again, "I could've saved Shino. If I had made the correct sacrifice, a low rank demon was going to save him. But...I chose wrong. Either my blood or chakra. I chose my blood because I had exhausted myself trying to escape. And it was the wrong...choice..." Sakura began to sniffle. "I just...don't know Naruto."

-.X.-

"Sasuke?" Naruto poked his head into the raven's home and, upon smelling his familiar aroma, he let himself in. Quietly, the blonde walked through the still house and followed his nose back to Sasuke's bedroom. "Sasuke?" he repeated outside the door.

"Hn."

"Can I come in? I need to talk to you."

"Whatever."

The blonde turned the handle and pushed the door open. He drew in a sharp breath upon seeing Sasuke sitting on his bed, covered in blood. "S-Sasuke? Wh-what happened?"

"I fed," he simply replied, reclining back onto his pillows.

"...Do I...?"

Sasuke nodded and sighed. "I made you. It's different from being born with the curse. You feed on me."

"...Can I only feed on you?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No. You can feed on people or on animals," he started and then turned to face his creation, "You are likely to catch a deadly disease if you feed on animals. And you will be branded a murderer if you feed on people. Because you weren't born with the curse, you do not have the sense of smell to detect various illnesses in people and animals. That's why you should feed on me and only on me."

Shocked, Naruto merely stood in the doorway, staring at his friend. "So...I really do have to drink blood now, don't I?"

Sasuke nodded and averted his gaze to his window. "Blood and water are the only things that your body can handle."

"Am I...dead?"

"What kind of idiotic question is that?"

"A serious one!" Naruto retorted. "Vampires are undead! They have no reflection or soul or anything!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Yeah, and those vampires are actually vampires. We aren't. We are _cursed _with vampirism. It's different."

Naruto nodded, completely comprehending Sasuke's explanation.

"Are you hungry?"

"I haven't eaten since you did this to me. What do you think, Bastard?"

"I think that you can go weeks without food and not lose any strength," Sasuke snorted. "So why are you here?"

"I just...wanted to talk about what happened the other night..."

"What happened is over with. You're annoying me. Get out."

"But-" Naruto protested, taking a step closer to the raven's bed.

Sasuke's purple eyes locked with Naruto's. And immediately Naruto knew that it was no longer Sasuke speaking.

-.X.-

**Review please…? I promise to reply… 3**


	7. Unbeknownst

**Jayden would like you to note…**After much ado, I am back and in action, baby! YEAH!

Thanks for reading~!

**-.X.-**

**Unbeknownst **

**-.X.-**

"I'm not giving you another warning. I will not hesitate to kill you."

Naruto, being the idiot he was, decided against heeding Sasuke's warning and, instead, took a step closer. "You're not Sasuke. Who the hell are you?"

His lips curled upward in a sinister smile and laughing, he quietly responded, "You may call me, Lord."

"I don't think so," the blonde retorted, baring his teeth. "Who are you and what the hell are you doing to my friend?"

"Ah…" he began, "Your friend? Your friend who raped you? Your friend who turned you into a freak? That friend? As we speak, his consciousness is fighting with all of its might to overpower me. I am Lord of Destruction, Azafael. Every four hundred generations, there is a cursed one born who is missing a piece of his soul and at this time, I am given the opportunity to fill it."

"Well, Aza-whoever, get the hell out of Sasuke," Naruto barked, fists clenching.

Sasuke blinked, eyes once again charcoal, and collapsed to the floor. Naruto rushed to his side and placed his ear against his chest. He was still breathing and his heart was beating strong; that was a relief. Lightly, Naruto brushed his fingers through Sasuke's bangs and released a small sigh. "Surprised that worked," he quietly muttered to himself and repositioned the raven so his head was resting on his lap.

Naruto's gaze fell to Sasuke's unconscious form; he was beautiful-for a guy. Naruto had never really taken a liking to a particular gender. He just sort of liked whoever made him happy. Sure, he'd always dated women in the past, but maybe it was time for a change.

Everything about this situation was frustrating for the blonde. Sasuke was out cold and possessed by some freaky demon lord guy and here he was, worried about his love life. Unbelievable. Naruto needed to get his priorities straight. He glanced back down to the raven and brushed his bangs out of his face.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he frowned. "What are you still doing here…?"

The blonde quickly removed his hand from Sasuke and cleared his throat. "Did you expect me to leave you passed out on the floor?"

"Well," he began, "I expected you to leave. I don't know how much longer I am going to be in control. I just keep-Why am I telling you this?"

"I think you owe it to me," Naruto softly replied and Sasuke repositioned himself so that he was looking at the blonde. "After what you did and after what I've seen, I think I deserve to know. And I think that we need to pay Tsunade a visit."

The raven crossed his fingers and stared upward at the ceiling; Naruto's lap was soft. Why was he being so kind after all that Sasuke had put him through? Either he was too good a person or had a death wish and perhaps a bit of both. Either way, the blonde was right. Over the last couple of days, he had essentially destroyed his friend's life and he deserved an explanation.

"We'll start with the curse. Almost three thousand years ago, a demi-goddess fell in love with my ancestor. She told him that she would give him anything and everything his heart desired if he would love her and only her for the rest of his mortal life and he led her to believe that it was her and only her. Later, she found out that he had bedded another woman and, out of jealousy, she put a curse on him and his children and his children's children and so on: their bodies would only accept human blood as proper sustenance for the rest of eternity. Those outside of the family which are bitten, should they survive the transformation, will also be cursed-but only for the rest of their lifetime; their children are not affected. Those which people from my bloodline have cursed can feed off of the person who cursed them. Does that make sense?"

Naruto nodded, peering down into his friend's eyes. "So I don't have to kill people. I can feed from you?"

"Yes," he replied, "but you have to stop when I tell you to stop. If you don't, you can kill me." Sasuke paused in thought for a moment before continuing, "If you choose to feed off of another human being, you cannot pass the curse on because you are not one of the original cursed. However, keep in mind that if a large amount of your saliva enters their bloodstream directly, you will poison them and they will die a very slow and very painful death. Be kind to your victims; kill them and then feed. It's proper etiquette."

Something about that statement struck Naruto as funny and he snorted. There was proper feeding etiquette? "How long have you been feeding off of humans?"

"My entire life," Sasuke replied and turned onto his side, facing away from Naruto. "When I was a child, my mother would feed me blood she'd collected. After Itachi killed my parents, I was left to fend for myself. At first, I tried to feed on boars and small animals from the forest; I knew I had to drink blood and I didn't want to hurt any of my friends. But quickly, I fell ill and Kakashi took me in; he and a few other high officials from this village know of my condition. They set up a system so that I didn't have to kill anyone; they would collect blood from prisoners of war or the elderly.

"When I hit puberty, I began to have the urge to kill and so they enrolled me in the ninja academy. Occasionally, after we passed our Genin exams, Kakashi would allow me to taste fresh blood from those who had fallen during combat. Is that a good enough explanation for you?"

Naruto's lips turned upward into a small smile. "I think you explained the curse we have well enough. I was worried that Tsunade would kick me out of the village."

It was Sasuke's turn to snort. "Idiot-they allow Kiba to stay here and he's a _werewolf_. He is much more dangerous than either of us. Unlike you and me, he has no control after he transforms."

"Well that's a relief," Naruto breathed and grew uncharacteristically quiet. Life for Sasuke must've been difficult. How much ramen had he thrown up just so that he could look like a normal kid? How many innocents did he have to kill to survive?

"I don't want your pity, Idiot. You're in the same boat now, in case you didn't notice."

"Not exactly," Naruto retorted, a deep crease forming between his brows. "Who is Azafael?"

Sasuke blinked and gave the blonde a confused look. "Azafael?"

"You know, when you become all possessed and shit with glowing purple eyes?"

It was Sasuke's turn to frown. "What happened?"

Naruto's jaw dropped. There was no way that Sasuke didn't know what happened. "What do you mean, 'What happened'? You are the one missing half of your soul or something."

The raven sat upright and gazed deeply into Naruto's cerulean eyes. "I need to know everything you know about this because I know nothing about it. All I know is that I black out and wake up later with no recollection of what I'd done and a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I've done something awful. I woke up right before you died."

"Wait," Naruto said, "Are you telling me that you didn't know? We need to see Tsunade immediately."

**-.X.-**

Naruto didn't know how long he'd stared up at the ceiling for. Today had been absolutely exhausting and he couldn't sleep. He couldn't find the courage to sleep and he definitely couldn't stop thinking. It was nights like this that he wished he could just be a normal man and settle into a nothing box-he wished he could turn off his brain and just stop thinking.

He and Sasuke had gone immediately to speak with Tsunade but she was not in town and wasn't expected to be back for at least a week. Kakashi, luckily enough, had decided to sit the mission out and stay back to protect Konoha. The two argued about it for nearly an hour before Naruto had gotten his way; they settled for him until Tsunade's return. Kakashi insisted that, after hearing how Naruto seemed to be a target, Sasuke would stay with him and Naruto was, under no circumstance, allowed to see Sasuke for the duration of the Hokage's absence.

There was a knock on Naruto's front door. Who in the world would be bothering him this time of night? He lazily swung his feet over the side of his bed and slid on a pair of orange sweatpants. Lethargically, he made his way to his front door and opened it, surprised to see a pair of slit eyes peering back at him. "Kiba?"

"Can I come in?"

Naruto stepped to the side and allowed his friend to enter. He closed the door behind the wolf and folded his arms. "What's going on?"

A sad smile made its way onto his lips and he glanced down at the floor before meeting Naruto's gaze again. "I can't sleep. Can I sleep with you again?"

Nodding, Naruto motioned for Kiba to come back to his bedroom. "I think I'd like that."

Kiba took off his shirt and slid onto the far side of the bed. Naruto started to lay out a bed on the floor but the wolf cleared his throat and shook his head. "I meant sleeping in the same bed. It just…it helped me sleep last night."

Absentmindedly, Naruto dipped his head in agreement and crawled onto the bed next to his friend. "The last few days have been pretty damned rough, eh?"

"Yeah. I still can't believe he's gone. I didn't even want to get up this morning. I didn't want to do anything at all today. I just…I feel like there is no reason to live. Akamaru passed last year and now Shino. I don't have anything left."

Brows furrowed, Naruto shook his head. "There are so many people here who care for you. What would Hinata do if you…if you…" He couldn't even bring himself to say those words. He considered Kiba to be a very good friend and he couldn't fathom losing him too.

"Shut up, Naruto. I'm not gonna kill myself."

Silence spread between the two teenagers. It wasn't entirely awkward but it wasn't entirely comfortable either. After Naruto was certain that Kiba was asleep, he turned over onto his back and resumed his staring contest with the ceiling.

The blonde had been so consumed in his thoughts that he couldn't even react when he felt Kiba's lips press to his. What was this? Had everyone in the village suddenly decided that Naruto was the new hot piece of meat?

As quickly as Kiba had kissed him, he had pulled away. Naruto peered at him through the darkness, confusion written all over his face. "Wha-?"

The brunette sighed and threw himself back against the bed, covering his face with a pillow. Was he embarrassed? Naruto didn't get it. Why would Kiba kiss him? Shino just died-That was it. Shino just died. He wanted to fill the emptiness he was feeling, Naruto was sure of it. But he wasn't exactly in a good spot to take care of his friend that way. And Naruto had a thing for Sasuke, didn't he? He was his first…

"Aw fuck it," Naruto grumbled under his breath and pulled the pillow away from Kiba's face. It wasn't like Sasuke really loved him anyway. "Kiba," he growled. "Did you mean that?"

Kiba swallowed the frog in his throat. The blonde didn't wait for a response and rolled over so that his bare chest was half-pressed against Kiba's; he crushed his lips hungrily into the brunette's and nipped at his bottom lip, careful so as not to draw blood. Kiba's fingers found the blonde's soft hair and gently trailed them downward, caressing his companion's smooth skin.

Lips parted, his tongue snaked its way into the blonde's mouth. Naruto melted into the kiss and he repositioned himself overtop the wolf and descended, pulling back from Kiba's sweet lips, trailing kisses down his jawline and downward to the nape of his neck. The blondes tongue ran across his jugular vein-feeling the blood course through just under a thin layer of skin-No. He continued to trail kisses down and down, running his tongue along his clavicle and further down, stopping at his nipples. He suckled gently, giving each equal attention. Flicked, licked, sucked and all the while, Kiba squirmed under the fox, moaning and enjoying every sensation he was feeling.

Naruto continued his kiss trail southward and nuzzled Kiba's arousal before quickly taking his lips captive in his own. It was when Naruto cupped the wolf's cheeks that he realized there were tears and he pulled away, gazing down at his…whatever Kiba now was. "Please, Naruto, don't…don't stop. I just…I want to forget him."

Gently, Naruto pressed his lips to Kiba's once more and pulled away, gently nuzzling his neck. "Not like this," the fox quietly murmured and took in the wolf's scent. "I'm not ready to do anything like this either. Not yet. I need some time."

Kiba wiped the tears from his cheeks and timidly asked, "What happened?"

Naruto snorted and closed his eyes. "Sasuke happened."

Kiba wrapped his arms tightly around the blonde and pulled him close. "Do you want to talk about it…?"

But by then, Naruto was already fast asleep.

**-.X.-**

**Feedback? It prompts me to write much more quickly and I promise to reply. Plus, it's never been so easy. Look at that little box. Just type a couple of words and tell me what you think or what you want to happen next or even who you want Naruto to end up with. It's easy. Super. Easy.**

Thanks!  
Jayden  



	8. COP OUT IMPORTANT UPDATE

Jayden would like…To thank you very much for sticking with me this far. This is the last time I am going to attempt to rewrite this story so that it has a plot worthy of readers like you. I have let you down with my attempts at writing this story before and I am going to make a promise, not only to you, but to myself as well to actually put effort into writing this.

Originally, this was story was requested by one of my readers. When they never reviewed, I felt a little sad and unmotivated; I watched a ton of Naruto just so that I could properly write this story. I was floored when I had an unrealistic response to this story! Over the last five years of your patience, it's had nearly 16,000 views.

I am sad to be giving up that number; it has been a major inspiration for me to keep going. However, I am going to start over. I am getting rid of everything I have written up until now. I might keep a paragraph here or there, but I am not going to torture you any longer with crap writing.

The story title, picture and summary will be the same. The plot? It will be similar…but uh…actually exist. It will no longer be all filler. But again, I'm starting over. I will leave this up until I have a real first chapter written. I do hope you will all join me for the next rendition of, "Love Bites".

And so as to comply with policies on , I suppose I should write a little bit of a chapter so I can't get in trouble. So, without further ado…A cop-out ending to, "Love Bites V.1.5"

-.X.-

When he woke, Naruto was not surprised to find that Kiba was missing from his bed. He threw his legs over the edge of his bed and stood up, stretching his arms out wide; his back cracked in what felt like ten thousand places.

He tugged his shirt on up and over his head and yawned. Tsunade was supposed to be back in town. Naruto pulled orange sweats up to his waist and tightened the drawstring. Suddenly, the ground began shaking and Naruto's house collapsed on top of him, ending this horrible rendition of fanficiton. The authoress was crazed and practically ripped out her hair! Quietly, she beckoned all of the readers to reread a much better story tomorrow.

~THE END


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